


A Leap of Faith

by The_Order



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU - Beacon Never Fell, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Might have lifted a bit of his character from V6 and put it here, Monochrome, Sun is a realy cool dude, commission, other than that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-15 04:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17521640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Order/pseuds/The_Order
Summary: As the Vytal Festival comes to an end, Weiss Schnee comes to a great and terrible revelation about herself and her closest friend, Blake Belladonna. Now, she must face the ramifications of her feelings while hiding them from the world. Usually, this wouldn't really be a problem, but Blake keeps pushing. She wants to know what's wrong with her best friend and confidant, but at the same time, she's afraid of the answer. To continue, one must overcome their fear and take a leap of faith.Originally published 23 January, 2019





	A Leap of Faith

    It started, as these things often do, with a smile and a laugh.

 

    Growing up, Weiss hadn’t been often exposed to either. There were times, yes, where there had been genuine laughter inside her home. Usually they were between herself and her sister, and, rarely, they came from her parents or brother, but those were all few and far between. When she got to Beacon there was much more laughter, many more smiles. She even found herself having to suppress a giggle or two around the lunch table once she had warmed up to the people.

 

    Team JNPR were wonderful sources of these. Nora’s antics or Jaune’s blunders were the cause of many a good story.

 

    Within her team, those smiles and laughs came typically from the sisters. Yang and Ruby were constantly getting into  _ something _ with some comedic value. It took some time for Weiss to get used to the energy those two gave off. For the first week or two of sharing a room with them, Weiss found them annoying and little else. Now, however, Weiss had been with her team for months, and wouldn’t give up those two for anything. Not that she would tell them that, she had an image to uphold after all. In her heart through, her team was possibly the most treasured part of her life. Even Weiss herself had begun attempting her own jokes, with...varying results.

 

    Blake Belladonna, though, was so very different from her other two teammates. Contrary to popular belief, Blake wasn’t slow to smile. At first she appeared distant, but it was all for show. She fed off the energy the sisters gave off too, more readily than Weiss. She would go along with their antics more often than not, albeit with an eye roll and a sarcastic statement. She would smirk often, and smile occasionally. She would even laugh.

 

    It was a sound Weiss had heard before. Maybe not often, but she had heard it many a time. She always though Blake had such a nice laugh. Breathy, light, quiet. Much more calm than Yang’s guffaws. Blake’s laughter was softer, but somehow more emotional. It reached her eyes. She often suppressed it, like Weiss, but in the rare occasion she allowed herself to laugh freely, she laughed with her whole body. Her shoulders shook, and those light, breathy laughs reached Weiss’s ears.

 

    She knew the sound well, which was why when, in the second semester of their freshman year at Beacon, Weiss found herself befuddled. An argument between Nora and Yang had grown into a full blown food fight between two teams of huntsmen in training, which ended when Ruby sent team JNPR into a wall and Professor Goodwitch stormed in like the avatar of death itself. The serious mood as the room was reassembled was broken as Yang, who had exited the Cafeteria some time ago through the roof via the medium of Nora, came crashing back to Remnant through the recently repaired ceiling. It sent each member of both teams into a fit of laughter, doubly as Yang’s semblance reacted to the impact and set the table she landed on aflame. 

 

    In the small chorus of laughter that filled the small room, Weiss’s ears honed in on one sound, as well as her eyes. Blake was laughing, and there were tears in her eyes. Weiss’s heart did something strange in her chest then, a kind of clenching, shuddering feeling. It felt like wanting.

 

    She didn’t know what to make of it at the time, and wouldn’t for quite a while.

 

    Weiss was never good with emotions. As a child she had to suppress them more often than she could express them, which meant she didn’t really ever learn what a lot of them meant. It wasn’t until several weeks later that she would put it together.

 

     See, the Vytal festival was coming up, and Beacon was going to put on a semi-formal dance for the contestants. In the weeks leading up to the dance, Weiss was nursing this perplexing feeling. Most of the time she could put it out of her mind, but then Blake would do something, or say something, or even just flit through Weiss’s mind and she was back at square one. It compounded her worry over Blake as she neglected herself over the whole Torchwick debacle, but Yang seemed to largely fix the problem. It wasn’t until the dance that Weiss would understand what her heart was telling her.

 

    On the night of the dance, Blake shared a dance with Yang, but would spend most of the night with Sun. They never did anything anyone would call affectionate, but even so Blake would occasionally smile or laugh at something he said. Even though Weiss often didn’t understand her emotions, there were some she had an almost intimate understanding of. Anger, disappointment, content, and loneliness to name a few, but there was one in particular she felt at that dance, looking at the pair. She felt it before in her life, when Winter was brave enough to join the military to get out of their home, when her father began to favor her brother over her, and, most recently, when Ruby was given the role of Team Leader in her place.

 

    With a start, she realized the thing burning in her heart was  _ jealousy _ . She tried to reason she was just jealous because she was alone tonight, but the feeling was far too focused, far too sharp. She found herself wishing she was in Sun’s place, and was almost scared blind with that realization. It all came together in that moment as she stood watching them from across a room. She was nursing a crush on one of her closest friends.

 

    At first there was a kind of panic. She couldn’t be  _ gay _ , right? She had never felt that way about another woman before! She tried reasoning her way out of that particular revelation, but then Blake laughed again, just loud enough for Weiss to hear. Her heart did that little thing it did and, now that Weiss knew what it was she couldn’t deny how attractive she found the faunus. 

 

    The next few days were filled with confusion and no small amount of embarrassment as she was faced with reevaluating herself. She searched over every interaction she’d had before with men she had thought were attractive, but found that anything she felt was so much  _ less _ than what she felt when she looked at, heard, thought about, or even  _ smelled _ Blake. Naturally, this led to Weiss reevaluating all her interactions with other females as well. This would result in a rather embarrassing series of attempts to try and recreate the ‘Blake’ feeling.

 

    She knew Yang was about as close to objectively beautiful as humankind could be, but she found that no matter how long or in what way Weiss’s looked at her she didn’t feel the same feeling. When eventually Yang noticed Weiss’s ‘experiment’, Weiss swiftly abandoned the venture. 

 

    It was fruitless anyway. There was just too  _ much _ of Yang, if that made sense. Blake was lithe, her muscles tight and chorded. She was flexible and quick, but still deceptively strong. Her belly wasn’t as chiseled as Yang’s but when she  _ stretched _ -

 

    With a jolt, Weiss drug herself out of that mental spiral with heated cheeks.

 

    Pyrrha failed, too, at bringing forth that feeling in Weiss. No random passers-by succeeded either, so Weiss slowly began to conclude that maybe it was just Blake.

 

    It wasn’t like it was  _ just  _ her body though. Weiss had liked Blake as a person for as long as she had gotten to truly know her. Blake was smart, witty even. She could sit and talk with Blake for hours about just about anything, and found her to be open-minded but still willing to defend her beliefs. She had a quiet nobility about her that Weiss respected, but it was only with the realization of her romantic feelings that Weiss noticed the depth of those amber eyes and the enticing intelligence therein. 

 

    They often went out together when they needed a break from the sisters’ antics, making a cup of coffee for Weiss and tea for Blake. They would find somewhere and just sit and talk over their drinks. Everything from Beacon’s gossip to Faunus rights was discussed, and Weiss often looked forward to them. After her little revelation, though, Weiss came to almost dread them. She couldn’t very well avoid their coffee-chats, as that would tip Blake off that something was wrong, but at the same time sitting next to Blake in a quiet room with a warm beverage in her hand always lead to thoughts of how much she wanted to lean her head on Blake’s shoulder, or would lead her to wonder how much more comfortable it would be to snuggle up to Blake’s side.

 

    She could scarcely look into Blake’s eyes without such thoughts bursting to the forefront of her mind.

 

    Which was probably why, when Blake brought up the topic of relationships, Weiss’s heart leaped so far up into her throat she could practically chew on it. 

 

    It started innocently enough, with them discussing their respective childhoods while sitting next to each other on a couch in the empty common room of their dorm. Of course, neither Weiss nor Blake was very open about the topic, mostly talking in abstract ideas and disconnected events, but talking they were. It was there that Weiss revealed to Blake that she never really had any friends growing up, and hesitantly admitted just how cripplingly lonely she felt for so long. Blake was silent for a time, absorbing the information, before asking, “What about romantic relationships? Have you never had one of those either?”

 

    Weiss’s heart rate increased. Her right hand held her coffee mug in a death grip, and her lift brushed a strand of hair behind her ear while her eyes looked anywhere but her friend. “No,” she admitted, “Nothing real, anyway. I of course had...suitors growing up, but they were just like my ‘friends’ too. Liars and pretenders, always just wanting things from me.” She surprised herself with how much she revealed to Blake as she spoke bitterly of what few ‘relationships’ she had in the past. At least it distracted her from the way Blake’s eyes peered through her into her soul. She felt herself calm a little.

 

    Only for her heart rate to shoot back up when Blake asked, “Well what about now?” Weiss thanked fate that she was so good at hiding her emotions, because Blake continued on, oblivious to the near-panic Weiss was currently experiencing, “There are plenty of people at Beacon who don’t care about money, and I can’t imagine anyone would say ‘no’ to you. Are you interested in anyone?”

 

    A voice in Weiss’s head screamed at her,  _ ‘Tell her!’ _ and she was shocked. This was the first time she had even considered actually doing something about her feelings, and it terrified her. She took a sip of her coffee to stall, the picture of calm demeanor on the outside even as her heart twisted itself in circles. In the end, what came out of her mouth was noncommittal noise that was entirely out of character for her. Blake gave her an odd look that struck Weiss with fear, but Blake didn’t question her further, instead looking off at nothing in particular for a moment. The pair lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, and Weiss felt small.

 

    Eventually, Blake spoke again, “Sun asked me out.”

 

    It was all Weiss could do not to drown in her coffee.

 

    Blake didn’t notice, still looking off with a thoughtful expression on her face. “I’m not sure if I should say yes.” Then, she turned to Weiss, her eyes looking oddly conflicted. Weiss could see how vulnerable Blake felt in revealing this, and it just barely managed to cut through the tumultuous ocean that her emotions had become. “What do you think I should do?”

 

_ ‘You can’t let her go,’ _ one voice pleaded, and Weiss’s heart agreed, but another responded,  _ ‘She’s not yours to keep,’ _ and Weiss suddenly had the strangest urge to cry. A part of her, the part that melted every time Blake laughed, begged her to just tell Blake her feelings, but she was scared. She feared what Blake would think. She knew, or thought she knew, that she had no chance of winning Blake’s affections (and still wasn’t sure if she even  _ wanted _ to hold onto those feelings yet). She feared that Blake would reject her, yes, but more than that she was  _ terrified _ that telling Blake would alienate her. It was the fear of ruining their friendship that pushed Weiss to say, “Do what you think will make you happy.”

 

    They fell into silence again, and Weiss was struck by how much she meant that. She cared about Blake, and genuinely wanted her to be happy. It was just that her heart ached for Blake to be happy because of  _ her _ .

 

    So when Blake sipped her tea thoughtfully and said, “I’m going to say yes,” Weiss’s heart broke in silence.

 

**0000000000**

 

    Two weeks later, on a Friday afternoon, Blake stirred a spoonful of honey into her tea. Her ears were uncovered atop her head, one of the benefits of their dorm room. The sisters had scampered off with their uncle to Vale for the day, so Blake had used the down time to get caught up on some reading while Weiss studied. Eventually, Weiss had closed her book with a huff, having worked her brain over as much as she could bear for the afternoon, and so Blake took that as a cue to go fix some drinks. Now, Weiss sat on Blake’s bed sipping from a cup of bitter liquid she insisted was quality coffee, and Blake sat next to her.

 

    Blake frowned as Weiss shifted a bit uncomfortably. She had noticed earlier that she seemed uncomfortable whenever Blake was on Weiss’s bed, and had assumed it stemmed from Weiss’s more possessive nature. Blake didn’t want her friend to be uncomfortable, as the whole purpose of these quiet talks they shared was to unwind from the craziness of their lives on the team. She frowned into her cup, thinking.

 

    Weiss had been acting...off, lately. It took a while for Blake to notice, as Weiss is almost worryingly good at hiding her emotions, but Blake had begun to notice small things. Weiss’s body language was always telling, if subtle. She always seemed hyper aware of Blake, her eyes snapping to her every time Blake made a too-quick movement, and always seemed to shift uncomfortably or even put distance between them when they were in close proximity. Blake’s first assumption was, she is a bit ashamed to say, that it was a faunus thing. Of course, that didn’t make any sense, as they had been having their little talks for months now, long after Weiss had learned about Blake’s heritage, and Weiss’s behavior is a relatively recent change.

 

     She had recently been wearing her bow less in their room. Just in case, Blake had even tested Weiss’s reactions with and without her bow, with the same confusing results. This was simultaneously both a relief for Blake and concerning. Yes, Blake would’ve been disappointed if her friend regressed, but this meant there was something less simple going on.

 

    Either way, contemplating the issue was stressing her out, so she pushed it from her mind for now and sipped her tea. They talked for some time about nothing of much consequence. Slowly, Blake could see some of the tension leaving Weiss’s form as the familiar rhythm of one of their talks was established. Even so, she kept a subtle eye on Weiss’s body language, occasionally broaching other topics, probing for a response.

 

    It wasn’t until Blake popped open her scroll to check the time did she get any kind of reaction. It was an unspoken rule during their chats that neither would use a scroll, so when Weiss saw her checking the time she put two and two together and asked, “Do you have somewhere to be?”

 

    “Yeah, but not for a while,” Blake said, tucking her scroll back into her pocket and explaining, “Sun and I have a date tonight.” That’s when it happened. It was almost nothing, but any show of emotion that Weiss didn’t want to show was almost nothing. Just a quick intake of air, a tiny, microscopic gasp through Weiss’s nose. Too quiet for most people to hear, but Blake’s ears caught it.  _ ‘Something to do with Sun and I?’  _ she wondered.

 

    Blake frowned into her cup, using a sip of her tea to stall so she could process this revelation,  _ ‘Why would me dating Sun make her uncomfortable?’ _

 

    Weiss shifted in her seat, before asking, “How is that going, anyway? You and Sun, I mean.”

 

    Part of Blake wanted to keep prodding, to try and get to the bottom of Weiss’s problem, but that felt...wrong. It felt dishonest, plus this was a topic Blake had been wanting to talk about with someone for some time. “Well, not great honestly,” she replied after a moment.

 

    This seemed to surprise Weiss, whose eyebrows rose noticeably and coffee cup stopped halfway to her lips. She turned to face Blake pointedly and asked, “What do you mean?”

 

    Blake took another sip, getting near the bottom of her cup now, and considered her wording. She was a bit nervous to put this to words but she wanted to get it off of her chest. “It’s like, I like Sun. He’s really sweet and understanding and much smarter than he seems at first,” she noted how Weiss stopped looking at her as she spoke, “but at the same time, it feels weird trying anything romantic with him, you know?”

 

    Weiss was quiet for a minute, before asking, “Define ‘anything romantic’.” Blake didn’t miss how her shoulders tensed as she said that, just barely visible under her bolero.

 

   Blake found that curious, but had already decided she was going to be honest with Weiss. She explained, “Just, anything really. We haven’t gone any farther than just hugging or holding hands, but things like that or even just being with him with the idea in my head that ‘this is supposed to be a date’,” she shook her head, taking a sip of her tea to calm herself. She couldn’t tell if spilling this was relieving or terrifying, but it was definitely getting her heart rate up. “It just feels...I don’t really know. Fake, maybe?”

 

    Then, for the first time since they had started talking about Sun, Weiss seemed to lose some of that tension in her shoulders. “Really?” She asked, and thanks to those ears of hers, Blake just barely caught a note of something in Weiss’s voice. 

 

_ ‘Hope?’ _ Blake wondered, a bit startled at the implications of that.  _ ‘Is she hoping Sun and I fall through?’ _ She thought more on that for a moment, analysing her behavior from the last two weeks and searching. She remembered their conversation from before, when Blake told Weiss that her and Sun were getting together, how Weiss seemed to shy away from talk of Sun after that. She thought about how Weiss always seemed to steer away from any romantic conversation topics as if they were loaded. Within a few seconds, Blake had a working hypothesis,  _ ‘Is she jealous of me being in a relationship?’ _

 

    Blake hid her frown with her cup, the gears in her head turning. Eventually, she broke the silence, “We aren’t very normal, are we?”

 

    A single white eyebrow rose at the change in topic. “I...suppose not,” Weiss said, somewhat tentatively. She sipped her coffee.

 

    “What I mean is,” Blake began, pausing briefly to consider her words, “neither of us really grew up in a very social setting, so things don’t always work out for us like they do with Ruby and Yang.”

 

    Weiss narrowed her eyes, “What are you getting at?”

 

    So much for subtlety. Deciding to come clean, Blake explained, “Look, Weiss, I know you. We’re friends - _ good  _ friends-, and you know that I know you. I know you aren’t averse to being in a relationship, but I also know being social isn’t something that comes easy to either of us. If there is someone you like, I’d be willing to help you. Fly wingman, as Yang says.”

 

    Indignation flickered briefly across Weiss’s face, and Blake worried she had offended the other girl, but after a moment Weiss released it with a sigh and her shoulders slumped visibly. The break in posture alone was enough to set off alarm bells inside Blake’s head, but then Weiss spoke, “It’s not as easy as that, Blake.”

 

    “So you do like someone then.”

 

    Weiss cradled her cup in both hands and, for a second seemed very small. “...Yes, but can we not talk about this?”

 

    But still Blake pushed, “You can tell me who it is, Weiss, I won’t tell him. If you don’t want to tell me, I think you should just go for it. There’s that dance coming up for the end of the Vytal Festival, I’m sure you could go to that with someone.” Blake really just couldn’t understand why she would be so timid here. Weiss wasn’t always the picture of confidence, but it would take being blind to not notice how attractive Weiss was. Even Blake could see that, and she was sure Weiss understood her own physical attributes. Maybe it was her personality-based ones she doubted? “I mean, you’re a great person, Weiss, really. You have a wonderful heart, and, physically, you’re just as beautiful. No guy would…” she trailed off.

 

    The compliments seemed to be having the opposite of their intended effect. With each one, Weiss seemed to shrink into herself more and more. Eventually, Weiss spoke, “They’re taken, Blake.”

 

    “Well, Weiss, there’s plenty of good guys here at Beacon,” Blake said, taking it in stride and trying so hard to be supportive, “I’m sure you could-”

 

    “No, Blake, there isn’t. Not for me,” Weiss interrupted, voice strangely quiet as she looked down into her cup. “There’s...no one else.”

 

    “Oh.”

 

    Weiss sipped her coffee.

 

**0000000000**

 

    A few days later Blake sat with another cup of tea in her hand. She wasn’t at Beacon this time, however. Instead, she sat in a table outside of a little tea house in Vale. It was about noon, and the early Spring sun warmed the area invitingly. A cool breeze brushed through her hair, and there was just enough clouds in the sky to keep the air from heating uncomfortably. The tea house was a familiar one, too. This was the same place she brought Sun the day she ran away from her team, the place she first opened up to anyone about her past and confessed who she was. Or, rather, who she used to be. 

 

    Blake always fashioned herself as a bit of a romantic. So, when taking into account that fact in coordination with the pleasant weather, the significance of the location to the relationship, and the fact that her boyfriend was sitting across from her, it was hard to see why Blake was currently frowning into her cup. 

 

    Though outwardly she was the picture of calm (if mildly concerned over something), inside her head she was running at a mile a minute. A thought had occurred to her the night before that was troubling her. She sat there in the slightly uncomfortable aluminum chair and pondered, staring into the depths of her cup as if it held the answers she was looking for. The tea stared back, equally as unenlightened. Though, perhaps that was simply because it was a warm, slightly sweetened cup of leaf juice. If only Blake could claim such a handicap.

 

    She was pulled from her thoughts by a soft appendage brushing against her arm. Looking up from her unenlightened cup of Earl Grey, Blake glanced briefly at the blonde tail brushing against her forearm, before meeting Sun’s eyes. “You OK, Blake?” he asked, concern in his eyes, “You’re like, even quieter than usual today.”

 

    ‘I’m fine’ almost left Blake’s mouth, but she stopped herself short, frustrated that her knee-jerk reaction was still to lie. Instead, she said, “It’s just...Weiss has been acting weird lately.” She tried to continue, but her mouth suddenly dried. She sipped her tea, the rich flavor doing little to calm the mix of emotions in her chest. Why was it so  _ hard _ to talk to people about her life? She drug out her drink to hide her frown.

 

    Her and Weiss’s talks were always so easy, so why couldn’t she just replicate that?

 

    Sun sat back in his chair, “That’s what’s bugging you? Weiss has been acting weird since the day she was born, right?” He smirked easily, showing that he was just trying to lighten the mood.

 

    Blake appreciated the humor, she did, but it didn’t really help. She gave a chuckle that even she thought sounded fake, and an awkward silence fell on their table. Blake brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before saying, “It’s just, she told me something the other day that's been bugging me.” Really, it was several somethings that added together, but brevity and all that.

 

    Truly, it had been troubling her for the past several nights. How Weiss had been acting since her and Sun got together, her reactions when Blake tried to talk her into finding a date, and worst of all what Weiss had said right at the end of their conversation. Her heart ached when she remembered how small she had sounded when she confessed her crush was taken, and her words had been haunting Blake. It couldn’t all be a coincidence, and, if Blake was right the implications were...troubling.  _ ‘Sun is going to think I’m crazy.’ _

 

    “I think Weiss has a crush on you.”

 

    “...You are  _ actually _ crazy.”

 

    “No, wait, Sun just hear me out.”

 

    He sat back in his seat, a look on his face like he wanted to laugh but was just barely holding it down. After a moment he motioned vaguely with his hand and said, “I’m all ears.”

 

    She quickly explained her reasoning, from Weiss’s early reactions to their relationship and her awkwardness around Blake to the more recent revelation that whoever it was she was crushing so hard on was already in a relationship. 

 

    The amusement slowly drained from Sun’s face as he realised how serious Blake was about all this. Blake could see the gears in his head turning. After a moment of Blake waiting in silence, he spoke, “Blake, Weiss doesn’t even  _ like _ me.”

 

    Blake nodded, having thought that through already, “I know, but I think maybe she’s just pretending not to like you to hide her emotions, like she did when her and Ruby first met.” That wasn’t too much of a stretch, right?

 

    Still though, Sun shook his head, “I don’t think so Blake. I mean, she barely tolerates me. Plus, we both saw how she acted around Neptune, and there was a lot less death-stares there.”

 

    Blake pursed her lips, he had a point. “I just can’t think of anyone else it could be,” she confessed. Distress began to coil in her chest, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why  this was stressing her so.

 

    Some of that tension must have shown on Blake’s face, because Sun leaned forward a reached across the table to find her hand. Their fingers laced together, but it didn't help calm her nerves. The strangest feeling of wrongness grew from the point where their hands met, and so Blake pulled hers away. She tried to play it off by then using that hand to pick up her cup of tea, but Sun’s frown told her she hadn’t fooled him.

 

    The ensuing silence lasted  _ just _ too long to be comfortable before Sun resumed their conversation, “Are you sure there’s no one else? I mean, is there is no other new couples she knows?”

 

    “Not really, no,” she said immediately, surely, “She’s like me, Sun. She doesn’t like many people. Really, her only friends are RWBY and JNPR.”

 

    “Well I mean if she does have a crush on someone it’s probably gonna be someone she, ya know, actually likes. You positive she doesn’t have any secret close friends besides that?” he asked.

 

    Were they talking about anyone else, Blake would’ve conceded her point there, but this was  _ Weiss _ . “I highly doubt that. Between classes and studying, Weiss only ever really does anything with the team. I’m practically her closest friend with how much we talk.” Blake tipped her cup back once more and drained it of tea-

 

    “Well maybe she has a crush on you then.”

 

    -Before she promptly choked, coughed, and put half the tea right back into her cup.

 

    After a few hard coughs and wiping her mouth, Blake finally got out, “She’s not gay, Sun.”

 

    “Do you really know that, though? I mean it kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?” he said easily.

 

    Blake gave him a flat stare, “No, it doesn’t.”

 

    He rested his elbows on the table, and took a sip of his own drink with his tail. “Think about it, Blake. She’s all weird around you, got upset when we got together, confesses to you she has a crush but is really, really tight lipped about it and only says that her crush is in a relationship already. Plus, she’s not acting at all how she acted when she had a crush on Neptune. It’s not that far-fetched.”

 

    Blake pressed her lips into a thin line. He was making too much sense. “She’s never shown any interest in women before,” she said mostly for the sake of argument.

 

    Sun only shrugged, “Maybe you’re her first girl-crush.”

 

**0000000000**

 

    That night, back in their dorm, the four girls of Team RWBY were all settling down for bed. Well, two of the four. As the Vytal festival was coming to a close Beacon was throwing one last hurrah. Unlike the dance that had started off the celebrations, this one was open to the wider public. It was meant to be one final sign of unity not only between the four kingdoms, but between the Huntsmen and the people they defended. Unlike the student dance, this was to be a much larger affair and was organized by the faculty rather than the students. Regardless, Weiss had volunteered to assist, and Goodwitch had given her the job of food and drink logistics. Of course, Weiss was attacking this issue with the same methodical gusto as with anything, calculating the amount of food and drink they would need, as well as working out which catering company had the best balance of quality and quantity for the budget she was allowed.

 

   This meant that even now as the two sisters snored, dead to the world above their heads, Weiss still sat on her bed, a small reading light illuminating her workspace. Blake watched from her own bed, golden eyes only vaguely keeping up the illusion of reading a book while she thought about what her and Sun had been talking about. “Hey, Weiss,” Blake said softly, careful not to wake up Ruby or Yang.

 

    “Hmm?” Weiss responded, not looking up from her work.

 

    “Are you going with anyone to the dance?” Blake asked.

 

    Blake didn’t miss how Weiss’s shoulders stiffened for just a second before she dodged the question, “It’s a gala, not a dance.”

 

    Blake wasn’t going to let it go that easy, “Either way, are you?”

 

    Weiss’s eyes were some of the deepest Blake had ever seen, always so expressive. It was the one bit of emotion that Weiss never quite managed to hide. Just like now, when Blake saw a hidden conflict in those eyes for just a second before Weiss responded, “No, I am not.”

 

    “What about that...person you said you had a crush on?”

 

    “Blake, I already told you-”

 

    “Have you at least tried to talk to them about it?” Blake interrupted, her ears pinned down to her head, knowing that she was probably sounding weirdly pushy about this. She still didn’t think Sun was right, but...the possibility was there, so she kept her pronouns carefully gender-neutral. “Who knows, maybe they could be more open to the idea than you think.”

 

_     ‘Why did I say that?’ _

 

    Those blue eyes met amber for a second before a sigh escaped Weiss’s lips. She set her materials to the side, “I’m really tired, Blake, and I don’t want to talk about this. Can we just go to sleep?”

 

    Blake ceded ground, and soon enough Weiss flipped her lamp off and crawled under her own covers. The room was pitch black for a few moments before Blake’s eyes adjusted. Soon enough, all the colors in the room became vague but distinct shades of grey. She didn’t bother lying down yet, knowing that in the dark Weiss couldn’t see that Blake was still sat up. The one splotch of color in the room was a single sliver of moonlight that slipped past the curtains, breaking the grayscale of her night vision. Weiss was facing away from both Blake and the window, and the silver light fell across her head. Blake’s eyes were naturally attracted to the only distinct color of the room, her night vision only enhancing the contrast.

 

    The ears atop her head twitched as she head a quiet, quiet sniff come from across the room. In the darkness, she saw Weiss shift to wipe at her face before settling down again. Her hair looked like moonlight, and she looked so alone curled up under her covers. Blake’s heart twisted in her chest.

 

_ Maybe they could be more open to the idea than you think. _

 

_     ‘Why did I say that?’ _

 

    No answers forthcoming, Blake layed down too, and, eventually, managed to fall asleep.

 

**0000000000**

 

     A week and a half before the Gala, Sun had invited Blake out to lunch. They sat small cafe on Beacon’s grounds and, as par for the course recently, the conversation had once more turned to Blake’s white-haired teammate.

 

    Mouth half full of club sandwich, Sun spoke, “Ya know, I ran the idea of Weiss being gay past Jaune.”

 

    Blake very nearly choked on her food, “ _ Why _ would you do that?”

 

    Quickly swallowing, he explained, “Well, I figured something out. See, turns out Jaunney-boy got bullied by some older girl growing up, and ended up siccing one of his older sisters on the girl. Long story short, Jaune’s been the uncle to a little boy for about two years, a boy whose parents are Saphron and Terra Cotta-Arc. I figured he might have a more effective gaydar than either of us.”

 

    Blake pinched the bridge of her nose, “Okay, first off, ‘gaydar’, really?”

 

   “It’s a real thing!”

 

    “Secondly, if she  _ is _ gay, she hasn’t so much as mentioned it to anyone so I doubt she’d appreciate it if everyone and their dog knows,” Blake scolded.

 

    “Fair, but don’t you want to know what he said?” Sun countered.

 

    Blake shrugged and took a bite of her own tuna sandwich, “If you think it’s worth saying, go ahead.”

 

    He leaned forward onto the table like he was sharing some kind of top-secret information, “Well, he said he’s had Weiss pinned as at least a little curious for a  _ month  _ now, and that she’s acting a lot like his sister did when she was first coming to terms with it all.”

 

    Blake took all of this with more than a few grains of salt, but it did raise one question that Blake really felt needed to be answered. “Hey, Sun…” she broached, setting down her sandwich. He seemed to sense the change in mood, so she continued, “You seem oddly comfortable talking about all this.”

 

    His head crooked to the side just a bit, “What do you mean ‘oddly’? You think I’d be weird about the gay thing or the ‘She could have a crush on my girlfriend’ thing?”

 

    “The second one,” Blake replied.

 

    For the first time, Sun pursed his lips together, looking somewhat pensive. “Ah, this might kinda kill the mood, but do you mind if I be a bit serious?”

 

    “Go ahead.”

 

    “I care about you Blake, a lot, but there are a lot of people I care about,” his voice was strangely earnest, the typical immature tone to his voice momentarily gone, “My team, my family, I really, really care about them, and I care about you just as much, Blake.” He reached across the table and for once didn’t go for her hand. Instead his hand rested on her upper arm in an undeniably platonic touch, “Yeah, I’d love for us to work out and be together romantically, but I want you to be happy more than that. Right now, we’re doing fine, but maybe one day you won’t need me anymore. So long as we’re both honest with each other,” he patted her arm before withdrawing, “then if someone else makes you happier, even if it’s not Weiss, I’m not going to try and stop you from being happy.”

 

    Blake struggled to find a response to that, her chest feeling too tight. She felt what could grow into a crying fit if left unchecked growing in her chest and just managed to get out, “That’s...thank you, Sun.” 

 

    Later, before they parted ways, she kissed his cheek.

 

**0000000000**

 

    The next week was a hard one for Blake. On one hand, what Sun had said relieved her of the stress she carried for not really  _ feeling _ much about their relationship, but on the other it opened a new door that had her questioning her friendship with Weiss. Or, more to the point, a potential relationship with Weiss.

 

    It started off small. Weiss rarely smiled anymore, and when she did it didn’t reach her eyes. It was enough to fool most, but Team RWBY knew Weiss well enough to tell when she was faking her own happiness. Of course, Blake hated to see it, and of course she wanted to help, but recent event had her questioning the intensity of those emotions. Suddenly, an urge to help her friend cheer up was a symptom of stronger emotions, a feeling of happiness when she smiled was borne of romantic feelings. It was all just so confusing, and Blake never knew if she could trust her own emotions. They went more than a week without having one of their coffee talks. 

 

    Slowly, Blake grew more and more suspicious of herself and of her heart. Did she  _ want _ to break up with Sun? She didn’t know. Did she  _ want _ to try and pursue a relationship with her best friend? She didn’t know. Did Weiss even  _ want  _ that kind of relationship with Blake?  _ She didn’t know! _

 

    Regardless, the heiress filled Blake’s mind for the next week. She often caught herself stealing glances at Weiss, over-thinking and over-analysing their previous interactions to the point of obsession. She knew Weiss was physically attractive, and she knew she felt...something when she looked at Weiss, but it was so different, so alien to what she felt when she looked at Sun or, once upon a time, at Adam. Surely it could be attraction then, right?

 

    But what if it wasn’t really attraction she felt with Sun and Adam? What if  _ this _ is what that felt like?

 

    By the end of the week, Blake was nearly yanking out her hair.

 

    Then, the day before the Gala, it finally happened. Ruby and Yang had headed out to Vale to shop for dresses, much to Ruby’s chargain. Weiss had bought hers nearly a week in advance (though how she didn’t already own an appropriate dress in her bottomless wardrobe Blake didn’t know), and Blake was just going to wear her same one from the student dance. This left the two of them alone in the dorm.

 

    It took all of the courage Blake could muster to walk back into the dorm room. In one hand she cradled a dark cup of coffee, and in the other a aromatic cup of tea. Predictably, Weiss had her nose down in a binder on her bed, working out some fine detail or another for the Gala. She perked up, though, when the scent of coffee reached her. For a moment, she seemed confused as to why Blake was suddenly offering her a cup, but then realization, and what might have been fear, flashed in her eyes. She tried to back out, “Oh, Blake, I can’t right now. I’m working-”

 

    But she trailed off as Blake shook her head, not backing down, “You’ve been working for weeks on this. Knowing you, you’ve calculated everything down to the number of ice cubes in the drinks. You can take a break.” It was a herculean effort on Blake’s part to keep her voice level. She didn’t have a plan worked out for whatever this conversation could grow to be, and she reasoned that nothing would happen. They would just chat and drink, maybe clear the air a little. Nothing big, nothing scary, nothing  _ romantic _ .

 

    Regardless, she had an acute sense of fearful anticipation not dissimilar from jumping out of an airship, not yet knowing if your backpack contains a parachute or your notebooks. A leap of fate, per say.

 

    Hesitantly, Weiss reached out and accepted the cup, symbolically starting their talk. 

 

    Eventually, or maybe inevitably, the conversation turned to the Gala. “Are you going with Sun tomorrow?” Weiss asked. There was nothing compromising in the way Weiss asked the question, but Blake felt something beneath it, ethereal.

 

    Weiss seemed surprised when Blake hesitated for a moment before answering, “I, um, I’m actually not sure.” Her heart shuddered as she said it. Blake hadn’t talked about it with Sun, but it was just understood that they’d be going together. She didn’t know why the was saying otherwise, there was no reason to doubt it.

 

    And yet…

 

    “What does that mean?” Weiss asked in that oh-so-Weiss way that she does whenever something’s surprised her.

 

    Blake felt very awkward standing next to Weiss’s bed, so she moved to sit down. Weiss pulled her feet towards her body and to the side to accommodate her. Blake took a sip of her tea to further extend her delaying tactic, but still no words came to her, so she forced out, “It’s just...complicated. A lot of things are up in the air right now and I...I’m not really sure how I feel.” It scared Blake, just how close to the truth she was straying. She didn’t meet Weiss’s eyes.

 

    Evidently, that was enough to worry the heiress, who asked, “Did Sun do something?”

 

    “No,” Blake was quick to dissuade her, “He didn’t do anything bad. The opposite really.” 

 

    Weiss furrowed her brow, incredulous, “So, he did something good, but that’s making you reconsider going to the Gala with him?”

 

    A mumbled, “It’s complicated,” into her cup was all Blake could muster for a response. She missed how easy it used to be to talk to Weiss, how simple all this was last month.

 

    Weiss set her coffee on the bookshelf that separated the two bunk beds and sat up a little straighter with a worried look on her face. “Are you okay, Blake?” she asked, hesitantly.

 

    “Who are you taking to the dance?” Blake asked too quickly. She cringed, completely aware of how strange she was acting but unable to prevent it. Her mind and heart were both swirling too fast for her to make sense of any one thought or emotion. She should’ve planned this conversation out, leaps of fate were overrated.

 

    “Oh,” Weiss said. She looked like she wanted to push the subject, but relented. She turned her head to look across the room at nothing in particular and spoke, “No one, I guess. I don’t really have anyone I want to ask, and no one has asked me. At least, no one I want to say yes too.”

 

    Blake latched onto that like a port in a storm, “So someone has asked you to go? Who? And why’d you say no?”

 

    Weiss gave her a look, and Blake knew she had made another mistake that Weiss let slide. After a minute, Weiss answered her, her voice sounding almost mournful, “Neptune asked me, and I turned him down.”

 

    “But why, I thought you liked him?” Blake asked, feeling strangely desperate to hear Weiss’s answer.

 

    Thankfully, Weiss had looked away again and seemed to miss it, caught up in her own head. She reached over and retrieved her coffee cup before shifting her position so she was sitting next to Blake with her feet touching the floor. Once she was settled again, Weiss took a sip of coffee and shook her head, “I don’t know what I ever saw in him. He’s a decent person, but he’s just...immature. I think when I first met him, I was too. I think I only liked him because he liked me, and no one else had done that before.” Weiss paused, suddenly looking much older. “He just wanted a relationship for the sake of a relationship. He didn’t - doesn’t - know anything about actually caring about someone, just how to pretend like he does. I didn’t either, but that was before…”

 

    She trailed off, and Blake felt an overwhelming need to hear what she had to say. It was a desperate thing, high up in her chest. Before what? Before what?! She was too scared of the answer to speculate, but also too scared of not knowing to stop herself from asking, “Before what?”

 

    Weiss shook her head, “It doesn’t matter.”

 

    Frustration mounted, and it mixed with the fear and the desperation in Blake’s chest. She wanted to cry, wanted to scream. It felt so  _ close _ , but Blake just didn’t know what  _ it _ was. She rubbed at her face with one hand, and then asked, “I think it does, Weiss. Before  _ what _ ? What changed?”

 

    Weiss was silent, her only reaction being to bring her knees to her chest and curl in on herself.

 

    The frustration began to overcome her fear, and, despite her best efforts, it showed in her voice, “You can talk to me, Weiss. I’m not leaving until you get whatever this is off your chest.”

 

    Weiss glare was fierce, “I’m sorry, Blake, but you didn’t exactly react well the last time I bared my heart to you.”

 

    That struck Blake deep. The night and the ensuing days after Weiss had first talked about her family and Blake revealed her past were some of the hardest since she had come to Beacon. She never wanted to run from her team like that again, and Weiss bringing that up here  _ hurt _ . “Really, Weiss, you’re bringing that up now? I thought we were over this!” She didn’t mean to raise her voice, she really didn’t, but her emotions were wild and the words were already said.

 

    Weiss set her half-finished coffee on the bookshelf again, an odd mix of anger and pain showing clear on her face, “Are we though, Blake? You keep...pressuring me to talk to you about things I’m not comfortable talking about!  _ Every _ conversation we have, you make about when I’m going to date someone, why I’m not taking anyone to the dance. I told you what my situation is, so just leave it be!”

 

    “So this  _ is  _ about your crush!” Blake countered.

 

     “Blake, just leave it be!”

 

     What came out of Blake’s mouth next was so stupid she wanted to slap herself in the face for it, but she was too terrified to bring up the alternative, “It’s Sun, isn’t it.”

 

    “ _ What? _ ” Weiss hissed.

 

    “This all started when me and him got together, and you act weird whenever we talk about him!” Blake explained, her heart pounding as she clung to her absurd theory like a lifeline, “And then you tell me that this crush is so serious that there’s no one else you can even consider being with,  _ and _ that they’re in a relationship!”

 

    Weiss’s blood rose to match Blakes, “Blake, not only is that wrong, but it’s  _ stupid. _ I’m not after your boyfriend! And why do you care, you don't even really like him!”

 

    “Oh, come on Weiss, you practically spelled it out for me!” she fought back, fighting herself as much as Weiss. She hated this, hated raising her voice at Weiss, but it was just too much. Her heart was too full and her mind too fogged, and the words came like a tide.

 

    “Whatever you thought I ‘spelled out’ for you, you read wrong! I don’t even like Sun, Blake!” She stood up and took a few steps away from the bed, throwing her hands in the air.

 

    Blake was desperate, and followed her to the middle of the room, still clutching her teacup in one hand, “Then  _ tell me _ , Weiss. Tell me what else all this could mean!”

 

    Finally, Weiss snapped, and she whipped around to face Blake, “I don’t have a crush on Sun you idiot, I’m  _ jealous of him!” _

 

    “W-what?”

 

    All the fire seemed to leave Weiss then, snuffed out. “It’s you,” she said on the verge of tears, “It was  _ always  _ you, Blake.”

 

    Blake knew it was a possibility, had even developed a little contingency plan if it was ever realized, but Weiss confession, the reality of it, stunned Blake absolutely. Either way, no level of planning or intuition could prepare her for what happened next.

 

    In an instant, Blake’s vision was filled with the blue of Weiss’s eyes.

 

    And then Weiss kissed her.

 

    It was so very different from any other kiss Blake had ever had. Weiss’s lips were soft and tasted faintly of coffee. The absence of stubble and the smooth feeling of Weiss’s lip gloss made her feel so  _ soft _ , inviting. Blake’s ears were filled with the pounding of her own heart and her nose with the scent of Weiss’s shampoo. Weiss was inexperienced and the kiss was sloppy, a little off center, but Blake’s eyes slid closed nonetheless. Somewhere in her mind she registered the sound of a lukewarm cup of tea landing on the carpet and spilling on her shoes.

 

    Them, just before Blake could think to return the kiss, Weiss pulled away, uttered an “I’m sorry,” and was gone.

 

    By the time Blake opened her eyes, just a few seconds later, the door to the dorm closed, Myrtenaster, Weiss’s boots, and, most importantly, Weiss herself were all absent, and Blake was alone.

 

    She touched her lips, and the phantom of Weiss’s touch lingered.

 

    Ruby would get a text from Weiss shortly after, informing her that the heiress had gone to Vale to do some last-minute shopping, and would be staying the night in a hotel. Later in the afternoon, Ruby and Yang would return to find Blake curled up in her bed, a stain on the floor from a fallen teacup, and a cold cup of coffee, still sitting untouched on the bookshelf.

 

    That night, Blake would cry herself to sleep.

 

    Unbeknownst to her, so would Weiss.

 

**0000000000**

 

    After some moderately restful sleep, Blake woke up with a deep frown. She grabbed her scroll and checked the time, finding it to be much too early to get up on a Saturday. Instead, she rolled over in her bed to look across the room at the heiress’s empty bed. The memories of last night came rushing back. Weiss had kissed her. Weiss had  _ kissed _ her. They had fought over something pointless with something far more important looming overhead, and when their emotions ran strong, Weiss had kissed her.

 

    Blake touched her lips and remembered. Sun had been right, she realized. They had humored the idea before, but the reality of it wasn’t something Blake had actually expected. Last night her mind was too clouded for her to really process it, but now the full weight of Weiss’s feelings and Blake’s actions pressed in.

 

    Weiss Schnee, Blake’s best friend and confidant, had romantic feelings for her. Weiss confessed her feelings last night, and then kissed her. Then she had ran.

 

    It hurt, Blake realized. The whole situation hurt, but she didn’t know why. Was it the kiss? The realization that Weiss wanted her? Blake remembered last night vividly, the shock of Weiss confession and the feeling of having her friend so close. She remembered how Weiss tasted and how she felt. No, that memory didn’t hurt in the slightest.

 

    She realized the pain in her chest was rejection, or maybe failure. Weiss had ran, and Blake had just stood there. She wondered if this was how Weiss felt those months earlier when Blake had ran from her team. She saw the irony there, and hated the situation all the more for it.

 

    Blake could feel tears start to form again, so she turned away from her friend’s bed and forced down her feelings. She tried her best to remove herself from the situation as much as possible, to think about it logically.

 

    First, list off the things she knew were true. Weiss had been harboring very strong feelings for her, and that was the cause of her strange behavior. Weiss had run away, but would have to come back soon. She wouldn’t let this make her miss classes, nor would she abandon the team over it. She would be back for the Gala, surely. Blake didn’t know how she felt about all this, about Weiss. Sun was remarkably level-headed about it and said he’d be fine if she left him for, in this case, Weiss, so long as it made her happy. 

 

    That left two things for her to work out. She needed to figure out her own feelings for Weiss, and then she needed to decide on a course of action.

 

    She stared up at Yang’s bed. That was much, much easier said than done. Fear coiled tight in her chest.

 

**0000000000**

 

**“Hey, Sun, are we still going to the dance together?”**

 

**“Uh, yeah, so long as you still want to.”**

 

**“Yeah, I think I do.”**

 

**0000000000**

 

    The Gala was a much larger affair than Beacon’s dance. It was free to the public, Vale’s elite and her working class alike coming together for the festivities. It was quite possibly the largest single gathering Vale saw semi-regularly. The student dance was small enough to be held in the auditorium, but, due to the number of people, the Gala was held in Beacon’s main courtyard.

 

    It was a sight to behold. The white arches that bordered the courtyard were decked with lights that illuminated the area with a soft glow that left enough light to see by, but didn’t drown out the stars or the shattered moon overhead. The long tables that ran the length of the courtyard overflowed with food from every kingdom. A small stage was set up at the base of the Huntsmen Statue where a band played slow, peaceful music to the makeshift dance floor that the paved concourse had been turned into.

 

    To the west, their airship docks overlooked the Bay of Vale, and the city beyond it glittered with the lights of smaller gatherings being held throughout the capital. To the east, the CCT and the Tower of Beacon glowed like a gem high in the sky. A beacon to all who saw it.

 

    Truly, it was a beautiful scene, and Blake did her best to enjoy it, she really did. She was well read enough to describe the scene, to appreciate its relevance to their world. She understood it’s beauty, and could see the joy on the people’s faces. She had shared a dance or two with her boyfriend, had maintained an interesting conversation with him throughout. She had spoken with several of her friends, accepted a few compliments even.

 

    She knew, logically, that she should be having a good time, but one thought shadowed every other, whispering constantly in the back of her mind,  _ ‘Where is Weiss?’ _

 

    She had made her decision earlier to go with Sun to the Gala. She had  _ decided _ . So why was she still caught up on Weiss? It was so frustrating. Sun, bless his heart, could tell that something was bugging Blake, but she had been very tight-lipped about it all night. Blake knew that Sun had probably figured out that her mood had to do with Weiss, but she was scared to talk about it. Scared of what she might say. Scared of what she might  _ learn _ .

 

    Sun was safe. He was a relationship she had already built up, and one she knew she could be content with. She tried to be happy with that, with ‘okayness’. Her and Weiss would have to talk eventually, she knew. They would have to work this out, Blake would have to let her down easy and hope they could go back to something similar to what they were before this whole mess. If not, Blake just hoped they could still be something close to friends.

 

    Blake would be happy with that, right?

 

    That’s what she told herself.

 

    At least, until she actually saw Weiss.

 

    Sun had been talking about something he and Neptune had gotten into yesterday that Blake was only half listening to. She glanced through the crowd, as she had nearly a hundred times already in the hour or so she had been at the Gala, and for the first time she found what she was looking for. 

 

    The crowd had parted just so as the band started up a slow dance number, and suddenly there she was. Weiss Schnee stood to the side of the dance floor in a gorgeous pale blue dress, the details of which were lost to Blake as a much more important detail took hold. She had never seen Weiss wear her hair down in public before, but here she stood, bathed in moonlight the same color as her hair. Easily, Blake thought, Weiss was the most beautiful thing about this Gala, and her heart lurched. She had her arms crossed, and her blue eyes stared up at the shattered moon.

 

    And, despite the crowd that surrounded her, Weiss looked so very alone.

 

    “So yeah, anyway we found out the hard way that those fireworks were for tonight, and kinda had to pay for the ones that already- Blake, you okay?” Sun said, suddenly realizing that Blake’s attention was very thoroughly not on him. He followed her sight, and said simply, “Oh.”

 

    Blake didn’t look away from Weiss as all her logic and reasoning and ‘safe’ choices came crashing down, torn apart by a powerful feeling to just  _ hold _ the angel standing across the courtyard from her. With great effort, she tore her eyes away and instead looked at her boyfriend. Her throat was tight and her heart was pounding, “Sun, I-”

 

    “Hey, it’s alright, Blake. Go,” he said, the joking tone in his voice gone.

 

    Still, Blake shook her head. Beneath her bow, her ears pinned down to her head in distress, “Sun, no, I don’t know-”

 

    He touched her arm, gently, and said, “No, you do know, Blake. I can see the way you look at her. I told you before, it’s fine. Just, go be happy. Don’t worry about me.” He smiled, and turned her with his tail to face Weiss.

 

    She looked back at him, and then back to Weiss, conflicted. After a second, she took a step into Sun’s persona space, gave him one last hug, and then turned and walked towards Weiss.

 

    Her heart had made its decision long before, even if she didn’t want to hear it.

 

    Weiss didn’t seem to notice as she approached. Blake, again, wished she had planned some kind of conversation starter, but hey, the last time she winged a conversation, Weiss kissed her. “Hey, Weiss.”

 

    The heiress jumped, and her head snapped toward Blake. She took a second to process the fact that Blake was standing right in front of her before saying in a rush, “Oh, Blake, I’m so,  _ so _ sorry about last night, I just got so-”

 

    Blake extended both hand forward in a placating gesture and said, “Hey, it’s okay Weiss. I’m not upset.”

 

    “Oh,” was Weiss’s only response.

 

    The silence became awkward as neither girl really knew what to say. A sudden crescendo by the band, however, gave Blake an idea. “Do you want to dance?”

 

    The surprise was plain on Weiss’s face, and she hesitated. “What about Sun?” she asked.

 

    For the first time that night, Blake truly smiled. “I’m not here with him,” she revealed. 

 

    Weiss bit her lip, “Does that mean…?”

 

    “I think so,” Blake said, and meant it, “yes. We’re not together anymore.” She reached out a hand, offering. After a moment, Weiss took it, and Blake gently pulled her into her personal space. Weiss’s hand was warm, lightly calloused from the grip of Myrtenaster but still soft. Easily, so,  _ so _ easily they met in the middle, and their fingers intertwined.

 

    This...this felt  _ right. _

 

    It felt so right it hurt.

 

    Blake laughed softly, so softly that only Weiss could hear it, “I offered to dance, but I actually never learned how to, so, um.” She trailed off. It felt awkward, but strangely enough didn’t feel bad. Despite the awkwardness, Blake was comfortable here. She was shocked by just how easy this was compared to coming to terms with it.

 

    Weiss laughed too, amused maybe, and said, “That’s fine, Blake, this is enough. Just, sway to the music.” Then, Weiss closed the distance slowly, giving Blake time to pull away if she wanted Blake to stop. Thing is, Blake didn’t want her to stop. She wanted to know how Weiss felt against her. The arm that wasn’t holding Weiss’s hand slipped around Weiss’s waist, as natural as anything could be.

 

    Blake had a few inches on Weiss, height-wise. She had danced with people before, but this was the first time she was taller than her partner. As the pair hit their rhythm, Weiss would lean in and rest her head on Blake’s shoulder. Her heart felt full up to bursting, and Blake found she quite liked her height advantage. She breathed deep, and could smell Weiss’s shampoo and feel her warmth against her. What had she been afraid of?

 

    After a minute of that, of the closeness, Weiss laughed, “I can’t believe we’re doing this. Everyone must think we’ve gone mad.”

 

    Blake squeezed Weiss’s hand and replied, “I don’t care about everyone right now, lets just be us.”

 

    Weiss’s free arm wrapped around Blake’s shoulders, and she leaned back to meet Blake’s amber eyes. Once again, Blake was struck by just how expressive Weiss’s eyes were. Blake had seem them turn hard when Weiss was angry, sharp when she was focused. Never before had the looked this soft, this inviting. “Blake, I was angry when I said it, but I meant what I said last night. Are you...okay with that? I hope you aren’t doing this just to make me happy.”

 

    Blake understood Weiss then. She understood how scared she probably was of her own emotions, understood her need for reassurance. More than that though, Blake understood herself now, too, and she was still scared. She was still scared, but she wanted to try this with Weiss. She told her as much, “I know, Weiss, and I’m sorry. I was...confused and scared, but now...Now I’m just happy. I think I want to try this out, with you. Do you still want this?”

 

    Even with all her training, Weiss couldn’t hide her smile. “Well here I am without a date to the Gala, and the one person I want to go with has yet to ask me.”

 

    Blake laughed, feeling a bit silly, but she humored her friend (girlfriend?), and asked, “Weiss Schnee, would you do me the pleasure of being my date to the Gala?”

 

    Weiss answered her with a small nod.

 

    This time, Blake was the one to kiss her.

 

    She closed the distance, and their lips met. Weiss let out a little sound of pleasure and squeezed Blake’s hand as the rest of the world fell away save for the two women, the black and white pair of Team RWBY finally together. And it was  _ right _ .

 

    Somewhere, a million miles away, Sun smiled and turned away, a bit sad, yes, but also happy. He walked away from the crowd, looking for Neptune.

 

    The two women parted, but only as much as necessary. A hair’s breadth separated them as they panted, recovering their breath. “So,” Blake began, one hand releasing Weiss’s to cup her cheek, “Better than last night?”

 

    And then, together at last, Blake began to fall in love with the other woman. This would be an adventure in and of itself. Falling in love would come with it’s ups and downs, smiles and tears. It would come with embarrassment and awkwardness, with fear, but it would also come with joy, warmth. Purity. Love would be a long journey for these two, but they took the first steps here under the shattered moon in Beacon’s courtyard, and it started, as these things often do, when Weiss smiled and laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> So this was commissioned by the wonderful Kil1RoyWasHere on iFunny and I’m really happy with how it turned out! My apologies for taking so long to get this done (for reference, he paid me up front for it, and I used the money to buy a FIRST account for the Volume 6 Premier, oof), but I hope you are happy with the finished product!
> 
> If you’re interested in commissioning me, contact me on here or on my tumblr page ‘rwby-order’, but my next project regardless is going to be the next chapter of my work “Destiny Finds Us”. Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget the review, it is my lifesblood!
> 
> -Order


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